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Cocaine worth £12 million found in van in Chelmsford

Cocaine with a potential street value of £12 million has been found in a van in Chelmsford.

Around 80kgs of the illegal drug was seized after the vehicle was stopped in the Essex city yesterday afternoon.

Two men, aged 50 and 25, from the Urmston area of Manchester, were detained with the vehicle.

It follows a six-month investigation led by Titan, the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit.

Following this recovery, with support from the police forces of Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire, co-ordinated arrests took place across the North West leading to the arrests of a further five men and one woman.

Head of Operations for Titan, Detective Superintendent Jason Hudson, said: "These arrests come as a result of a thorough and intensive six-month long investigation by officers from Titan.

"It also represents the largest seizure of Class A controlled drugs from a Titan led investigation and delivers a massive blow against organised crime in the North West.

"This continues our ongoing efforts to tackle the top echelon of organised criminals in the North West and I hope this sends a message out of others involved in this type of criminality, that we act on all information we receive and work hard to take you off the streets and bring you to justice."